trust is earned
by cuteasklaine0216
Summary: nick is in university. his parents don't understand his troubles but maybe a certain blonde will?
1. Chapter 1

Nick Duval was a college sophomore visiting his home for the weekend between quarters before his new classes started up again. He attended school in New York but always came to visit his parents in California when he could. His dad Kurt was waiting at the baggage claim to take him back to their large two story ranch style home.

"Hi dad!" Nick called out when he saw his father's well styled hair from across the room.

Kurt perked up and smiled at his son warmly. "It's about time you got here. How has school been? Has the snow melted? You know if you had gone to school here you wouldn't have to deal with that."

Nick rolled his eyes and grabbed his bag as the carousel started to dispense the luggage. "Yes well I enjoy the craziness of the city. How's Pops been?"

"He's busy, now that everyone is off of school they're all coming in for appointments before they have to head back." Kurt gave his son a knowing look. "But he always has time to see his favorite and only son."

Nick grimaced at that and Kurt saw it. "Tomorrow afternoon he has a spot for you, and you're going."

Nick bit his lip anxiously. His other dad Blaine was a dentist and he absolutely hated going to see him. Well, perhaps hate was the wrong word. He didn't hate his father, he was terrified more so. "Dad, I don't need to go see him. I went to the student clinic at NYU."

"We both know that's a complete lie Nicholas. Tomorrow at 4, then he's going to take you out to dinner. Sound like a plan?" Kurt asked patiently.

Nick nodded his head silently as he followed his dad to the parking garage. "Good, just get this done and over with so you can enjoy your break."

The drive home from the airport was now silent thanks to Kurt. Nick was moping with his arms crossed and a pout on his lips. He didn't want this. He was adult for Christ's sake. He didn't have to do what his parents told him anymore. "I'm not going" he spoke up.

"Pardon me?" Kurt asked in a confused tone.

"I'm not going to dad's office. You can't make me, I'm 20 years old and I make my own decisions."

"Oh is that so? Well then mister 20-year-old. Who is paying your tuition right now? Certainly not your father's doctorate and high salary. No that can't be it." Kurt gave Nick a harsh sass in response. "You are going and I'm taking you myself now."

Nick cursed under his breath and sank lower in his seat. When they got back to the house he quickly took his bags upstairs and locked the door to his room for privacy. Kurt sighed at his son's theatrics and started getting dinner ready for when Blaine came home.

Blaine was packing up his briefcase at the office when he received a text from his husband indicating nick was home and not pleased. He sighed and shook his head as he placed his phone back in his jacket pocket and locked the doors to the building.

Nick was in his room listening to music when he heard a sharp knock on the door and his father Blaine's voice. "Nick, buddy, I'm home. Can I come in and see your face? I haven't seen you in months." He sounded sincere and nick missed his dad so he sat up groggily and stumbled over to unlock the door.

Blaine smiled down at his son when he saw his face. "Hi Nick, I missed you buddy." Blaine pulled him in for a tight hug. Nick hugged his dad back, forgetting for the moment why he was so upset earlier. He loved his dad and was glad to see him.

"You're dad has dinner ready if you want to come down and eat" Blaine spoke happily as he pulled away. He didn't want to push nick into talking about the big issue when they were just seeing each other.

The two made their way downstairs and sat at the table. Kurt had prepared everything already so Blaine started to serve himself and Nick just sort of picked at things here and there. "Is everything okay nick? Are you not hungry or just nervous for tomorrow" Kurt asked. Blaine looked up questioningly from his plate and glanced between the two. Nick just shook his head. He wasn't feeling well and that was definitely the reason. He ate a bit and then excused himself to the living room where he sat to watch the game. Blaine joined him since sports were their thing and eventually Nick became so enthralled with the show he forgot about being upset and relaxed with his father.

Nick and Blaine were smiling and Kurt rolled his eyes, it grew late and he patted Blaine on the back. "I'm going to bed, you can join me if you'd like. Nick will still be here tomorrow." Blaine nodded and ruffled his son's hair as he left to join Kurt for the night.

Nick yawned and headed up to be as well. He was tired from his flight and felt the need to sleep a lot. He crawled into his full sized bed and pulled the duvet over him not bothering to change or brush his teeth.

Nick woke up with his hair in a messy fluff and drool on his cheek. He must have been more tired than he initially thought. He groggily sat up and checked the time. It was 12:30. His dads were already at work and he had the house to himself for a while. He got up and brushed his teeth because he hated the nasty morning breath taste in his mouth. After taking care of business and combing his hair he hopped downstairs and poured himself some cereal and sat to watch some TV for a while.

Nick stretched out on the couch and stuffed a pillow under his head to relax. He got a text from his father Kurt and checked his phone right away.

[Nick, get dressed, we have to leave as soon as I get home]

Nick was confused and texted back to clarify.

[Leave for what?]

His dad responded almost instantly.

[Were going to see your father and then out to dinner. Wear something comfortable but clean.]

Nick read the text and cringed. He had forgotten about that and now he felt sick again. Nick looked up at the clock and saw the time now read 3:30. There was no chance of escape at this point, so he trumped upstairs and pulled on his nice jeans and a button up shirt. Nick made sure to run to the bathroom again and brush his teeth vigorously. He even flossed, though when his gums bled he panicked a bit. He heard Kurt coming in through the front door and started to shake a little in his bathroom.

Kurt came upstairs and found his son in the bathroom having a bit of an anxiety attack. "Nicholas, you know your father won't hurt you. Just take a deep breath and let's get in the car, we have to go now." Kurt rubbed his back and ushered his son down stairs. Nick was turning white at this point and the best thing Kurt could do was get him in the car and lock the door.

They drove to Blaine's office and Nick sat up ridged and straight in the front seat. Kurt wished he would relax but there was nothing he could do. They pulled into the parking lot and Nick started to shake his head automatically. Kurt saw some tears in his eyes start to fall and his heart broke for their son.

"Nick, its okay, don't cry. It's just a cleaning and exam and then well go out to dinner." Nick kept crying and didn't get out of the car. Kurt came around to his side and opened the door. He tried to coax Nick but nothing worked until he mentioned calling Blaine out to the car to retrieve him. Nick scrambled out fairly quickly and shut the door with shaking hands.

They walked into the office and Nick shook more violently as Kurt signed him in. The receptionist didn't make them wait and led them back right away to a small room. Nick refused to sit as she left to get his father.

Kurt came up next to nick as he stared down the chair and crossed his arms stubbornly. "Nick, sit down in the chair please. Your dad needs you to cooperate so he can see." Nick shook his head, then Blaine walked in.

"Hi Nick, how was your day to yourself? Did you sleep in?" Blaine asked casually as he sat on his stool. "Can you sit over here for me and we can just talk for a minute?"

Nick ignored his dad's questions and continued to shake his head. His breath had hitched when Blaine walked in and he was having trouble containing his emotions now.

"Come on Nick, just sit on the chair and were just talking. I'm not even going to lean you back. You can do this" Blaine coaxed.

Nick gulped and reluctantly walked over and sat in the chair. Kurt and Blaine smiled at him which only annoyed him more. He hated being treated like a child even though he was acting like one.

"Perfect Nick, so what's got you so worked up buddy?" Blaine scooted closer to chat with his son who looked utterly terrified.

Nick tried to find his voice as he looked up at his dad. "You're going to scrape at my teeth and it's going to hurt. Or what if you find something. And then you have to use needles and the drill, and you won't let me leave and I'll have to let you drill my teeth!" Nick cried out and he could no longer stop the tears from falling.

Blaine's heart hurt seeing his son this distressed. "Nick it's alright, the scraping won't hurt, it will just be a little uncomfortable. And if I do find anything I won't make you get it fixed today, you still have a say in this okay?" Blaine rubbed Nick's back for a bit and Kurt took his hand. That helped nick relax a little and he stopped crying.

"Can we try this now nick? If you want me to stop or you need a break you know you can just raise your hand remember?" Blaine spoke calmly and leaned the chair back.

Nick nodded shakily and opened his mouth fractionally. Blaine placed a bib on Nick and picked up his tools. He gently pressed down on Nick's jaw to open it a little more and will his way in.

Nick flinched a bit when his dad opened his mouth more. He felt the tools in his mouth and tried to turn his head away in panic. Blaine held him still as he moved. "No Nick, stay still, this will only take a few minutes" Blaine soothed.

"Nuh uh" Nick shook his head as best as he could. He attempted to sit up when His dad kept working but Kurt stopped him.

Nick raised his hand immediately when they wouldn't let him up. Blaine stopped what he was doing and put his tools down. "We stopped, you're alright, see? Everything is fine, you're still in control."

Nick tried to get up again but this time Blaine stopped him. "No Nick, you have a say in how fast we progress but we're still progressing. That's out of your hands" Blaine explained calmly but sternly. "Nothing bad is going to happen and even if there is a problem we won't worry about it today."

Nick clenched his jaw and was breathing quickly through his nose. His eyes darted between his dad's and then He screwed them shut and shook his head.

"No, no, Nick look at me, take some deep breaths. You can take your time and calm down. We're not going to force your mouth open" Blaine explained.

Nick opened his eyes and looked at Blaine pleadingly. He made a small whining sound in the back of his throat and a tear fell from his eyes. Kurt and Blaine sat patiently until Nick was ready again. Blaine turned off the light and moved the tools away so Nick could calm down.

"Honey, the longer you wait the longer were here, you know?" Kurt reasoned. "If you let your dad look and really quickly clean your teeth we can get out of here and go have dinner together."

Nick frowned but nodded fractionally and slowly opened his mouth again. He got skittish when the light was turned back on and Blaine picked up his tools but he forced himself to keep his mouth open.

"Good job Nick, you're doing great so far" Blaine praised. He began cleaning nicks teeth again, this time making slow deliberate movements when he moved so Nick didn't get startled again.

Nick hated the feeling of the tools scraping his teeth and he cringed visibly as his dad worked. A tear or two fell from his eye as he began to freak out again.

"Don't cry Nick it's alright, you're doing just fine and we're almost done" Blaine soothed. "Kurt can you come around to the other side and...er... Hold Nick for a minute. I need to start the polisher and I have a feeling he's not going to let me" he whispered.

Kurt got up and Nick watched with panicked eyes. "It's alright Nick, I'm here, just relax" Kurt cooed. He took nicks wrists and held them gently enough for him to think he was comforting him, but firmly enough to hold him down when he had to.

While Nick was distracted Blaine moved to a drawer and retrieved a mouth prop he rarely had to use except for sedation work. He scooted back over to his son and smiled at him gently. "Can you open nice and wide for me again Nick. I need to check something. We're almost done don't worry." Nick opened his mouth warily but did as his dad asked in hopes of getting out of there as fast as possible. What he wasn't expecting was what Blaine did next.

Nick felt his mouth being pried open wider and he couldn't stop it or close anymore. He made a move to lift his arms up and remove the tool himself but Kurt held his wrist firmly against the chair. That's when he heard the noise of the drill and had a complete meltdown. Nick shook his head from side to side and tears poured from his eyes. He wanted out and he couldn't even raise his hand to get them to stop.

He felt his dad polishing his teeth but he didn't even care anymore. Blaine was holding his head and Kurt his arms and they didn't seem to care how he felt.

The noise stopped and Nick blinked the tears from his eyes to see Blaine picking up his sharp tools again. "Nick, I'm doing the exam now and then we'll go. Hold still and don't move an inch okay. I don't want to hurt you by accident. I'll be very gentle I promise."

Nick made an angry noise of protest and Kurt scolded him for it. Then Blaine's tools were in his mouth and he could feel the scraping and tapping of the metal on his teeth and he hated it. There was a sharp pain in his upper jaw and he flinched out of reflex and tried to turn his head away. Nick whimpered in fear and glanced at his dad in a frightened manner.

"Looks like you have a decent sized cavity there Nick. I won't make you get it filled tonight though. You did well and have been through enough. You'll have to come back in before you head back to school though" Blaine explained as he removed the mouth prop and Kurt released his hands. Before they could say anything else Nick bolted from the room and ran outside to crouch down in the parking lot and sob.

Kurt and Blaine just looked at each other with frowns on their faces with an expression that said "yeah, we fucked up." Blaine cleaned up and put away their sons file while Kurt went out the front door to find Nick.

Kurt crouched down and put a hand on his shoulder when he approached to comfort Nick. The 20 year old flinched away half in anger and half out of reflex over what just happened. He glared at his dad and then started to sob a bit more. When Blaine emerged from the office after locking up nick turned his face away and cried harder. Both parents felt terrible for what they did.

Nick stumbled up onto his feet when Blaine unlocked the car door and crawled into the very back seat of the car. He pulled the jacket he brought over his head like a child and buried his face in his hands.

Two weeks passed and Nick was still avoiding his parents, more so out of fear than anger. The anger had consumed him for the first three days but now he was able to focus on the real problem. His trust for his parents was shattered now, and he was in no way going back to that hell hole to be held down and tortured. When it was three days until Nick flew back to NYC Kurt decided it was time to take care of this.

"Your dad and I have been talking," Kurt started over dinner that evening.

"Oh I'm sure you have, probably planning how to trick me into-"

"Nicholas that's enough," Blaine cut in. "your father and I just want what's best for you, and we're sorry for what we resorted to last time. We won't be making that mistake again," Blaine spoke firmly.

"Mistake?" Nick questioned incredulously. "Mistakes are when you give someone the wrong flavored toothpaste. A mistake would be to have an overbooked schedule. What you did was not a mistake!" nicks voice became more heated as he spoke. "Holding down your son and forcing his mouth open is not a mistake. That's a choice, and it was a terrible one!" he practically screamed.

Kurt looked taken aback at the outburst. "Nick your father didn't hurt you at all and he's not going to when he fills your cavity either.

"I. Don't. Believe you," Nick seethed as he stood up and threw the rest of his untouched food in the garbage.

Kurt sighed, "He's not going to expect us to understand, and he's certainly not going to cooperate."

"Then we tell him he has to or else," Blaine defended.

"That's not going to work either," Kurt huffed.

Little did they know, Nick was listening to their entire conversation while he packed his suitcase for his flight back to the university. He had his phone put and already managed to rearrange his flight arrangements to move ahead of schedule. Nick carefully dropped his bags down to the lawn from his second story bedroom window. He packed his backpack and went downstairs.

"I'm going out, I'll be back later." Before his parents could protest further he was out the door.

Nick had his uber ready to go, but he ended up waiting for a bit anyway as he thought there would be a longer argument over his sudden departure. By the time the texts started he was at the airport. When the calls came pouring in he was boarding the plane. It wasn't until he landed in and retrieved his bags that he called his father, Kurt, back and told him what he had done. There was a heated argument in the taxi back to school. Nick eventually hung up and stepped out into the chilled New York air. He wasn't planning on making amends anytime soon, especially since there were no amends made to him.


	2. Chapter 2

It was a new quarter, a new school year, and a new class. And Nick had all but forgotten his parents for the time being. He and his roommates played the rest of the break away on their Xbox and tuned out their adult responsibilities.

This semester was going to be more challenging for Nick. He'd chosen some harder classes and the most challenging was a morning class, though it was science, his favorite subject. He found a desk towards the middle and near the aisle and sat down with his head on the desk. He was exhausted and the new sleep schedule was not working for him yet.

Nick picked his head up at the guy who chose to sit next to him and smiled in a friendly way.

"Everyone say hello to your lab partners for the rest of the quarter," the professor announced.

Nick nodded silently to himself and held his hand out to shake as did the other man. "Nick, nice to meet you."

"Jeff, you as well, what brings you into advanced biochemistry?" the blonde asked.

Nick shrugged, "I'm interested in the science behind it all, it's a favorite subject of mine," The brunette explained.

"Me too, ever thought of being a doctor?" Jeff asked as they opened their notes and set up the equipment for the experiment.

"Nah, too much stuff to think about there. My brain can only handle so much stress before I implode."

Jeff just nodded his head in thought and smiled to himself.

"What's so funny?" Nick questioned with a side glance.

"Hmm? Oh nothing, I thought of a cat video," Jeff giggled.

There wasn't much more idle chat that class, but over the next couple weeks into the quarter Nick and Jeff talked a lot more and grew to be good friends.

"Did you get confused by the composition homework this week?" Nick asked Jeff.

"Nah, I'm pretty quick at composition formulas," Jeff shrugged.

Nick sighed, frustrated, and clenched his jaw in stress only to wince and rub his cheek. Jeff noticed and furrowed his brow in curiosity.

"Does your face hurt?" he questioned.

Nick nodded his head, "yeah, just a tooth that's bugging me, no big deal." He saw Jeff give him a skeptical look and gave him a sarcastic look in response. "Is that a problem your highness?"

Jeff laughed, "no my liege, just thinking maybe you should get that looked at."

Nick shook his head stubbornly, "no it's fine."

Jeff leaned on the desk with his head cocked to the side and a squint to his eyes. "I want to flick you in the face to prove a point but that would be mean, so I'll just ask, is it on the side or top of the tooth?"

"Occlusal surface, but it hurts to flick too," Nick commented flatly, not even realizing what he was saying.

Jeff looked surprised by nicks understanding of terminology so he continued curiously. "Second molar or first?"

"Second, number 31." Nicks eyes widened when he realized the questions being asked of him. "How do you know what I'm talking about," he asked in a quiet whisper.

"How do you know any of this," Jeff asked in disbelief.

"You first," Nick pressed.

"Third year dental student," Jeff pointed to himself with pride, "taking a refresher course for this class. You?"

"Father, dentist," Nick pointed to himself with much less enthusiasm.

"Oooh neat, that must be…. no, not cool, not good got it" Jeff changed his tone when he saw nicks face.

Nick felt sick; he knew friendship was too good to be true when it was this fun. He couldn't just get up and leave class either. "Can we not talk about this anymore, I'm getting nauseous."

Jeff nodded quickly and averted his gaze. "No yeah yeah right, that's cool that's…. fine, you know" He felt awkward too at this point. "If you ever want to talk though, I mean I'll listen. I get the feeling something happened for you to be this-"

"Jeff stop. Please?" Nick begged. Jeff shut his mouth after that, afraid to say more and cause trouble. He let it slide for Nick.

They had a good friendship for the rest of their time that quarter, and it stayed with them through the next semester.

Nick fixed his tie and sat practicing his speech for his public speaking final as he waited for Jeff to arrive for lunch. The blonde rushed through the doors and searched for Nick until he spotted him at a far table.

"Sorry I'm late, I'm here and ready to be helpful and listen to your speech," he smiled cheekily and sat down.

Nick looked skeptical, "you're always late, I'm not surprised, why are you wet though?" Nick asked as he observed his best friends blue scrubs were soaked in certain spots.

Jeff looked himself over and put a thoughtful face on for a moment. "Well I can assure you it's not pee, if that's what you're thinking. Its water, maybe a little spit, but I think it's mostly water. Little kids are gross sometimes."

Nick shuddered visibly and shook his head. "They probably gave you trouble cause you wanted to drill their face off," he supplied.

"As much fun as that is, I have a squeaky clean record of NOT doing that, and I intend to keep it that way for about…" Jeff counted on his fingers, "forever. But if you don't believe me, let me show you sometime," he joked.

Nick flexed his jaw defensively and rubbed his aching cheek, not caring whether Jeff was watching him.

"Still letting that eat away at you huh? I wish you'd just tell me what happened so I can just know, you know?" Jeff spoke while averting his eyes casually and nibbling on a carrot from nicks plate.

"It doesn't work that way. Maybe I'll feel like it eventually but not here and not now," Nick argued as he buried his head in his arms.

"Suit yourself."

They sat silently with Jeff eating and Nick not. They were an unusual pair in every aspect it would seem.

"I'm bored, I don't feel like practicing this anymore" Nick commented flatly. Jeff rolled his eyes comically. "Yeah, I definitely picked up on that among other things. Wanna do something fun?" he offered.

Nick picked his head up off the table, "I have a few hours. What did you have in mind?"

Jeff beamed excitedly, "we could whiten our teeth, it's really cool I promise you'll think so too."

"Somehow I highly doubt that," Nick spoke skeptically. He stood to leave the cafeteria but Jeff stopped him again.

"No no no, I promise it's not bad at all."

"Pass. If you have to say it's not bad then it automatically is," Nick argued.

"Dude, why do you have to be a butthole every time I want to show you something?"

"Dude, it's not showing me something if it's my face getting fucked with" Nick reprimanded.

Jeff squinted his eyes challengingly and stood in front of Nick with his hands on his hips. He looked hilariously unthreatening. "Alright sass master, I know you don't like this kind of stuff as you've pointed out very clearly before, and though I still don't know WHY you feel that way, I still think you could get through this." He ignored the frown on nicks face and just took his arm anyway. "Just walk with me and we'll talk."

Nick allowed himself to be lead from the cafeteria nonchalantly. He wasn't happy about this but he decided not to fight Jeff. Besides, Jeff gave him an oddly different feeling that his father just never could. He felt a little more trusting of Jeff.

"You're not talking much for someone who said we'd walk and talk," Nick pointed out on their route.

"Weather is nice, a bit cloudy today but the sun is peeking through," Jeff spoke distractedly.

"Jeff."

"Nick?"

Nick tried to pull his arm away but Jeff held tighter and trudged along.

"I just thought of about ten different things we could do for fun besides this," Nick chattered, "and none of them involve you seeing my teeth."

Jeff smirked with a stupid look on his face. "Who said I'd be looking, I said WE could whiten OUR teeth, as in I'm doing it with you. Moral support buddy, friendship bonding." He tugged harder as Nick fought him indignantly through the doors of the waiting room.

"Table for two please, is Christina still here I want her to do me a favor" Jeff asked the woman at the front desk, Betsy, when they walked in. Nick grew fidgety next to his friend and decided to sit down and behave. Maybe he'd get points for that. He was surprised he'd been able to contain himself this far, Jeff truly was something special.

A girl with the nametag 'Christina' on her shirt came out to get them and smirked at Jeff. "Don't you ever get tired of me" she laughed. Jeff just rolled his eyes and beckoned Nick over to him with an encouraging wave. Nick got up unsurely and followed the two down a hall. He didn't like this but regardless didn't want to be left alone without Jeff.

They walked back to a room with four chairs lined up next to each other, all with televisions in front of them and all in different colors.

"Dibs on the red chair," Jeff blurted out as he hurried over to sit on his. He patted the green one next to him and Nick scoffed. "This isn't like the teacup ride at Disneyland Jeff," Nick spoke shakily as he backed up towards the hall again. Jeff frowned a bit in concern and got up to comfort his friend.

"Nick where are you going man, come back." He took nicks hand in his before he could leave and Nick looked surprised for a second before turning away to face the wall they were near. "Jeff stop please," he pleaded. He could feel himself start to slip and he didn't want to humiliate himself by shamefully spilling tears. "This does stuff to me okay, I don't want to talk about it, it's stupid."

Jeff looked sad but it quickly melted into determination. "No, you should do this. It's like a spa day but for your teeth and it involves nothing that could hurt, just lights and gel stuff," he explained. "And chapstick," Jeff added with a serious expression, "lots of chapstick."

Nick smiled a little and wiped at his face. "Chapstick is the worst man," he laughed softly.

Jeff smiled and helped him over to the green chair. He didn't leave to sit on his red chair thought, which Nick found odd and comforting. Christina came over and Jeff spoke up. "Let's set Nick up first so I don't have to try to comfort him with my face full of cotton."

Nicks eyes widened at that and heh looked at Jeff pleadingly. "I'd rather watch you go first."

"Nah bro, you should get through this and I'll hold your hand and it'll just be easier." Jeff patted nicks hand gently as a sign of support.

Nick whined a little as Jeff helped Christina with him. "I have to go pee really bad."

"No you don't, stay here" Jeff brushed his comment aside. He picked up the chapstick and put it on nicks lips. "See, terrifying so far, that scary chapstick we talked about, and I'm putting soooo much on," Jeff teased. Nick still had a terrified look on his face so Jeff decided he would talk Nick through the rest.

"Christina is going to put this thing in called a cheek retractor so we can see all your pretty teeth. She's going to put cotton in you cheeks and mouth to protect you from the UV light we use, and some gel on your gums to block the light from giving you a sun burn on them as well."

Nick didn't hear much Jeff said once he held up the thing they wanted to use on him. "I don't like the look of that thing. I don't want it," he argued.

"Well we need to use it and it just makes you feel stupid but it doesn't hurt, trust me" Jeff waved dismissively. "But I always look stupid so…" he winked at Nick.

"I don't like this," Nick whined.

"You don't like anything."

"Yes, anything here, but especially this."

Jeff undid nicks tie a little to let him breathe. "You're uptight and need to just take a deep breath and let Christina do her thing. I'm your friend and I'm right here watching over you."

Nick felt embarrassed and humiliated as he opened his mouth for the pair but he let Christina use the stupid tool and felt way too exposed for his liking.

"Aww you look so adorable" Jeff cooed sarcastically at him. Nick just glared at him but he couldn't hold the angry look for long while Christina started getting more things ready. His face held fear again. Jeff understood that it was harder for Nick to talk and ask questions so he supplied answers on his own. "She's grabbing some cotton to protect your cheeks and stuff. You have to bite on it."

Nick nodded his head as this part seemed straight forward and honestly, pretty unthreatening.

When Christina turned on the light however and leaned him back without warning Nick lost it a little. He let a shameful whine escape him and glanced at Jeff pathetically, who just held his hand and reassured him like a good best friend. "Shhhh, think of how hot you'll look giving your speech later with them sexy white teeth. All the ladies will swoon."

Nick did snort at that and it distracted him for the moment. It occurred to him they hadn't discussed THAT subject yet. Maybe another time, when Jeff wasn't holding his hand and such. But he certainly didn't like this. He didn't like when Christina put on her gloves, and he didn't like when she started putting stuff in his mouth. But he absolutely lost it when she furrowed her brow and grabbed a mirror off her tray. Nicks eyes widened and he shook his head quickly and shut his mouth with a wince.

"Yeah, I saw that one looks like it's hurting you Nick, can I see it?" she asked sweetly. He shook his head no yet again. "I just want to look I promise I'm not going to do anything."

Nick couldn't trust that, couldn't fall for that ever again in his life, and when Jeff put his hand on nicks shoulder to get his attention he jerked his arm back and shot him a panicked look.

"Don't! Don't hold me down" he blurted out through the cotton.

"Nick what? I-I'm not holding you down," Jeff spoke in a slightly shocked manner. "I would never…. What?" he let go of his friend who sat up quickly and pushed himself against Jeff, away from Christina.

"Christina, put the mirror down, he doesn't want us to see, it's fine," Jeff supplied. "You're fine Nick, you don't have to do this, I didn't realize…. I'm sorry."

Nick turned into Jeff and hugged him for a second before his friend helped him take the stuff out of his mouth. Nick got up and wrapped his arms around himself and thanked Jeff quietly.

"Do you want to go Nick? You don't have to stay and watch, or we can both go do something else like you said earlier," Jeff asked gently.

No, no I'm going to go get a drink from the cafeteria and practice my speech more. See you later?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah, yeah just text me okay? I want to hear how it went" Jeff gave a soft guilty smile to Nick as he left the room. He felt like such an ass.


End file.
